Every September dozens of sites across all of France open to the public for one weekend.  The public is invited, often for free, to visit some of the governmental institutions, private residences, old mansions, and other national treasures generally inaccessible during the year.  For example, the Hôtel de Ville is open for tours.  At the Eiffel Tower demonstrations are given to reveal how the elevators work.  Unfortunately, with only one weekend, it's hard to squeeze everything in, since by the middle of the day lines can be long for the more popular sites.  If you ever find yourself in Paris during September, try to time your trip to coincide with the Journées du Patrimoine.  However, Paris isn't the only city that participates; sites across all of France open to the public for the same weekend.





Ayelen, my Argentinian friend, and I only made it to École Militaire before seeing tremendous lines elsewhere and eventually wandering up to the Marchés aux Puces (a HUGE flea market in the north of the city, report coming soon).  The best strategy, perhaps, is to visit the more popular sites during the early morning, and the lesser ones later in the day.  Oops.

You can read a little more about the history of École Militaire on Wikipedia.  Today it is an institution for military higher education.  I believe students actually live on the premsises, since during our visit we noticed a cafeteria.  There are also stables, a library, and lots of fancy offices decorated in typical 18th century style.